Despite 8 in 10 Hispanic consumers saying they believe they should own life insurance, only half actually have coverage, according to the 2021 Insurance Barometer Study.
This market represents a growing opportunity for the life insurance industry. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the Hispanic population has grown 23% over the past decade to 62.1 million, now accounting for 1 in 5 people in the U.S.
While the Hispanic community is very diverse, comprising of heritages from across Latin America, Central and South America, and the Caribbean, they share common cultural values, especially around the importance of family. These values are reflected in their financial priorities and concerns.
In honor of Hispanic Heritage Month, LIMRA is sharing 15 facts about Hispanic consumers and life insurance.
- In 2021, just over half of Hispanic adults (51%) reported owning life insurance, down from 54% in points down from 2020.
- Hispanic consumers are most likely to recognize the value of life insurance — 78% of Hispanics say they need life insurance, compared with just 70% of the general population.
- A third of Hispanics (33%) feel they don’t have enough coverage and 41% wish their spouse had more coverage. Four in 10 Hispanics say they wished they purchased their life insurance coverage at an earlier age.
- Nearly half (47%) of Hispanic consumers say they need (or need more) life insurance coverage, which is higher than any other race or ethnicity.
- Forty-four percent of Hispanic households would face financial hardship within six months should a wage earner die unexpectedly; 20% say they would suffer financially within a month.
- Protecting their families is very important to Hispanics. Hispanic consumers are more likely than other market segments to worry about leaving their dependents in a difficult financial situation should they die prematurely and fear burdening others with their burial/funeral expenses.
- While Hispanics are as likely as the general population to say a major reason they have life insurance is to cover burial and other final expenses (46%), they are much more likely than other market segments to view life insurance as a way to help replace lost wages/income of wage earner (47% versus 35%), pay off their mortgages (43% versus 31%), and supplement their retirement income (35% versus 29%).
- Forty-five percent of uninsured Hispanics say they are likely to purchase coverage within the next 12 months.
- Hispanics — more than any other race or ethnicity — would prefer to work with a financial professional to purchase coverage (37% versus 33% for the general population).
- More than half of Hispanics (53%) say they are more likely to purchase life insurance using simplified underwriting, which is higher than any other ethnic group or race. They are attracted to its convenience (fast and easy, avoids a medical exam or the need to see a doctor).
Impact of COVID-19 on the Hispanic Community
COVID-19 had a greater impact on the Hispanic community. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Hispanic people were almost twice as likely as non-Hispanics to get infected with COVID-19, and more than twice as likely to die.
It is not surprising to learn that the pandemic influenced Hispanic consumers’ perceptions about life insurance:
- Four in 10 Hispanics (37%) say they are more likely to purchase life insurance due to the pandemic, higher than the 31% of the general population.
- COVID-19 prompted 14% of Hispanics to purchase life insurance for the first time in 2020.
- Of the 10% of Hispanics that lost their life insurance coverage in 2020, 29% said it was due to an unplanned job loss; 28% said it was because they could no longer afford it; and 31% said they had other financial priorities.
Misconceptions Impede Ownership
It is clear that Hispanic consumers view their life insurance coverage as a way to protect their loved ones’ financial future. Similar to other market segments, however, Hispanic consumers’ misconceptions about life insurance often deters them from getting the coverage they know they need.
- The No. 1 reason Hispanic consumers give for not purchasing life insurance is it is too expensive. Yet, 82% of Hispanics overestimate the cost of coverage.
- A third of Hispanic consumers (31%) do not feel knowledgeable about life insurance. More than a quarter of Hispanic consumers (26%) say they haven’t purchased coverage because they don’t know what to buy or how much they need.
Life insurance is the foundation of any sound financial plan — supporting financial goals, like education, home ownership and generational wealth transfer, as well as protecting families from the unexpected. As an industry, one way to help address the racial wealth gap that exist in the Hispanic community is by engaging and educating Hispanic consumers about the importance of life insurance and helping them get the life insurance protection they need to ensure their families’ financial security.
No hablo Espanol. :no:
Yo hablo español, pero no con fluidez. (I speak Spanish, but not fluently.)
This article is about the greater Latino/Hispanic community, not just recent immigrants. Most speak English, especially if they’re second generation or more. Some, like my daughter-in-law, don’t speak much Spanish at all. (In fact, my own grandmother spoke Spanish, but didn’t pass it to my mom. So, the Spanish I speak mainly came from high
Most speak English.
I've run into a few lately that had their kids translate. I guess I could use Google Translate on my phone, but it's not 100% accurate.
Apptical can do most languages.
Being in Texas, especially if Southern Texas, like California I would guess you would find more Spanish only people. However, overall more families are like mine, I think. My grandparents came to California from Michoacan Mexico in about 1917. The first generation American was bilingual, but the younger ones started losing some Spanish. English became the primary language. Second generation, my cousins and I, maybe 20-30% are bilingual, our kids, third generation very few are bilingual and those cousins own a ranch in Mexico. Forth generation almost as many will speak whatever they learn in school. In my case the two older grandchildren only speak English. The two younger ones, one is in bilingual classes, her mother is first generation. The other I am confident will be bilingual as well.
So while still Hispanics my guess is most speak English to some degree if not primary. I can get by on a Spanish appointment but there is usually an English speaker there and the Spanish speaker usually understands English they are just not confident in their usage.
The key to the Hispanic market is the culture over the language. Family is a big deal. Trust is a big deal. Language may get you a sale. Selling a policy is caveman easy. Converting customers to referring clients is where the Hispanic clients value rise.
IMohsoHO
Edit: oops, not Texas. Got you mixed up with @shonceman .
Wow! That’s a big mix up! I wonder which one of us should feel insulted! 😀
You’re right though. I’m told that my grandmother, who died when I was 5, spoke fluent Spanish. Unfortunately, she didn’t pass it to my mom, so I learned Spanish in high school. Even here in Texas, the majority of my Hispanic clients were born in the USA, and English is their primary language. I have a handful of clients who only speak Spanish, but I’ve rarely needed to do a presentation entirely in Spanish. I’m not fluent, so I’m always glad when there’s an English speaking family member close by to help me.
Wow! That’s a big mix up! I wonder which one of us should feel insulted! 😀
You’re right though. I’m told that my grandmother, who died when I was 5, spoke fluent Spanish. Unfortunately, she didn’t pass it to my mom, so I learned Spanish in high school. Even here in Texas, the majority of my Hispanic clients were born in the USA, and English is their primary language. I have a handful of clients who only speak Spanish, but I’ve rarely needed to do a presentation entirely in Spanish. I’m not fluent, so I’m always glad when there’s an English speaking family member close by to help me.
Probably you should feel insulted, because Illinois sucks(because of Chicago)!!!
Probably you should feel insulted, because Illinois sucks(because of Chicago)!!!
But we have such a big, I mean really big, lovable governor who is looking out for our best interest.
Just the other day he just gave me one of his own toilets and asked for nothing in return. 😉
I see these yard signs everywhere. :laugh:
View attachment 7420
The most recent ones just say he sucks.
The most recent ones just say he sucks.
In light of the thread topic, I thought I’d share that I just got off the phone with a very nice lady in a small town in Oklahoma. She had a fairly thick West Oklahoma country accent, but a Hispanic surname.
After we finished the e-app, she wanted to talk about something for her husband, who was born in Mexico. She spelled out his name for me, and I read it back to her. It was an unusual name, and it surprised her when I said it correctly. I told her I speak enough Spanish to at least pronounce people’s names correctly!
I asked her if she spoke Spanish. She answered yes, and told me she never spoke English at all until she started school. That surprised me, because she seemed to have more trouble pronouncing his name than I did! Her family moved from Texas to Oklahoma when she was 4, and she’s been speaking English as her primary language most of her life. She still speaks Spanish, but with an Okie accent!
(Her husband’s a different story. She said he can understand English pretty well, but speaks mainly Spanish. She promised that when I call again to take his application, she’ll be there to help.)
The key to making that sale was obviously not language. It was trust. She’d had a recent negative experience with her previous company, and had some trust issues as a result. They had never contacted her to convert her term policy, and it just terminated after 20 years. When she called them to get more insurance, they wanted to write her a 2 year ROP GI because of her health history.
She had a little trouble believing that I would be able to get her a standard whole life (FE) policy. It took me a bit to build enough rapport for her to allow me to even quote her, much less take an application. But I could hear it in her voice the second she decided she liked me. Smooth sailing after that, and I have a strong feeling that I just became the family insurance guy!
In light of the thread topic, I thought I’d share that I just got off the phone with a very nice lady in a small town in Oklahoma. She had a fairly thick West Oklahoma country accent, but a Hispanic surname.
After we finished the e-app, she wanted to talk about something for her husband, who was born in Mexico. She spelled out his name for me, and I read it back to her. It was an unusual name, and it surprised her when I said it correctly. I told her I speak enough Spanish to at least pronounce people’s names correctly!
I asked her if she spoke Spanish. She answered yes, and told me she never spoke English at all until she started school. That surprised me, because she seemed to have more trouble pronouncing his name than I did! Her family moved from Texas to Oklahoma when she was 4, and she’s been speaking English as her primary language most of her life. She still speaks Spanish, but with an Okie accent!
(Her husband’s a different story. She said he can understand English pretty well, but speaks mainly Spanish. She promised that when I call again to take his application, she’ll be there to help.)
The key to making that sale was obviously not language. It was trust. She’d had a recent negative experience with her previous company, and had some trust issues as a result. They had never contacted her to convert her term policy, and it just terminated after 20 years. When she called them to get more insurance, they wanted to write her a 2 year ROP GI because of her health history.
She had a little trouble believing that I would be able to get her a standard whole life (FE) policy. It took me a bit to build enough rapport for her to allow me to even quote her, much less take an application. But I could hear it in her voice the second she decided she liked me. Smooth sailing after that, and I have a strong feeling that I just became the family insurance guy!
The sooner new agents learn the key concepts needed to build trust the faster their track to more consistent sales results and more fulfilling relationships among clients.
Do you ever look back on your years in this profession and wonder how you got to where you are now along with all the lessons you had to learn and are still learning along the way? Man, did I have a ton of learning to do, and I often feel overwhelmed at the learning I have yet to do. :wacko:
The sooner new agents learn the key concepts needed to build trust the faster their track to more consistent sales results and more fulfilling relationships among clients.
Do you ever look back on your years in this profession and wonder how you got to where you are now along with all the lessons you had to learn and are still learning along the way? Man, did I have a ton of learning to do, and I often feel overwhelmed at the learning I have yet to do. :wacko:
I’ve been at this so log, I can’t actually remember learning things I do by nature. The biggest thing for me in building trust with my clients has been to learn trust myself. I had to learn that I can count on God to meet my needs. I just need to put in the work. The results are up to Him. Once I learned that, I stopped being anxious about whether I got the sale or not. Once I relaxed and just focused on having enough prospects and making a solid, honest presentation, I became free from the temptation to manipulate people into buying. When people sense that I’m under no pressure to get THIS sale, they trust me more, resulting in more sales
I’ve been at this so log, I can’t actually remember learning things I do by nature. The biggest thing for me in building trust with my clients has been to learn trust myself. I had to learn that I can count on God to meet my needs. I just need to put in the work. The results are up to Him. Once I learned that, I stopped being anxious about whether I got the sale or not. Once I relaxed and just focused on having enough prospects and making a solid, honest presentation, I became free from the temptation to manipulate people into buying. When people sense that I’m under no pressure to get THIS sale, they trust me more, resulting in more sales
Haha, I have spoken to many Texas clients that are the same. Kinda like my Spanglish
Making a client over making a customer. Takes almost the same amount of time and pay a renewal/dividend.
Inventory
Old school
Hispanic Heritage month, none of the Hispanics I know or live with even know or would care to know what Hispanic Heritage month is. By the second or third generation most only speak English and lose their competitive advantage.
How many Hispanics do you live with? :err:
Two full, Two 3/4's and one 1/2 so = 4
I forgot another 1/2 so make it = 4.5
That's a complicated math problem for me. :yes:
Sounds like my family.
Then throw in the adopted ones.